eldredge



(No Model.)

J. V.. D. ELDREDGE.

GAB. GOUPLING.

No. 408,699. Patented Aug. 13, 1889.

INVENTOQ 652414 all [72% I UNITED STATES PATENT OFEICE.

JOHN V. D. ELDREDGE, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CURTIS B. ELDREDGE, OF SAME PLACE.

\ CAR-=COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,699, dated August 13, 1889.

Serial No. 312,271. (No model.)

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of parts of two cars with my improved draw-bar and couplers, having parts broken away to illustrate the construction and operation. Fig. 2 isa separate view illustrating one of said draw-bars and coupler. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of a car, showing the mechanism for manipulating the hooks. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of parts of cars with the draw-bars and couplers in place.

It is the purpose of my invention to produce a draw-bar and coupler of the hook type which will couple with the usual links,which may also be very easily uncoupled, which cannot strike the draw-bar on the adjacent car, and so not liable to injury in that particular.

It also has for its object the prevention of slack in a train between the cars, and to bring the pressure of the sill of each car directly against the end of the draw-bar of the adjacent car, and so to avoid largely the liability of accident, such as is frequent where the strains are brought upon two draw-bars, both of which are unsteady, yielding, and shaky.

To this end A represents a draw-bar. It is provided with a link-openinga at its end, so as to couple readily with the link of any other car not provided with one of my couplers. The head A is elongated upward at a, so as to come directly against the sill of the adjacent car when both are provided with my improvement.

A is a hook arranged to project from the side of the bar A. It is housed in the cavity in the draw-bar, is pivoted at a and a pin a is arranged to hold the hook on place after the coupling has been effected. This pin a is engaged by a chain with the leverl3,wh1ch projects to the side of the car or to the top oi the same, whereby the link may be readily and easily raised to release the hook and uncouple the car. WVhen the car has been uncoupled, this pin will rest on top of the hook all ready to drop into place automatically and lock the hook when the latter shall have been forced in to engagement with the hook of the other car. To prevent the hook from turning too far in either direction, I prefer to provide a'groove a in the top of the hook, into which the lower end of the pin projects and so 11mits themovem ent of the hook. There may be one or more of the locking-pins'a and they may engage the hooks at any suitable points. At the heel of the draw-bar it is built out to one side at A so as to engage therewith a draft-rod a in the line with the draft. draw-bar may be made of cast, wrought, or malleable metal.-

The draw-bars are, as shown, located at the sides of and not in the line of the draft. The object of this construction is that the drawbar on one car will not strike that of the other cars as the cars are brought together, but will pass by each other and each come to a firm bearing against the sill of the other car just after their hooks have engaged each other. This bearing of the draw-bars against the unyielding sills does away in a great measure with the liability of breakage-a liability which exists to a large degree when the impact of the meeting cars has to be sustained by two draw-heads striking against each other, and both of which are loose and shaky. There is, moreover, by my arrangement practically no liability of breaking the draw-bars themselves. The slack between the cars is also reduced to a minimum, and so the danger of breakage in starting the trainis greatly reduced.

l/Vhat I claim is- 1. A draw-bar provided with a head having an upward projection and adapted to come to a bearing against the sill of an adjacent car and having a pivoted hook projecting from its side at a point some distance back This of the head adapted to engage a corresponding hook on a similar bar, substantially as described.

2. In combination, a draw-bar provided with a stationary head adapted to engage an ordinary link-and-pin coupler, said bar having at a distance back of the stationary head a pivoted hook housed in and projecting from its side, a locking-pin to lock said hook, and means for readily disengaging the pin to uncouple the cars, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the draw-bar having a head adapted to engage a link-and-pin coupler, of the coupling-hook housed in and projecting from the side of the draw-bar and having a groove in its upper side, andalocking-pin adapted to ride in said groove when the hook is released and to limit its movement, substantially as described.

4. In combination, a draw-bar having a stationary head at its forward end projected upward to bear against the sill of an adjacent car, a pivoted hook projecting from its side at a distance back from this head, and a side- Wise projection at the rear end of the bar adapted to engage a center draft-rod, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN V. D. ELDREDGE.

Witnesses:

W. H. CHAMBERLIN, L. A. DOELTZ. 

